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“To get anywhere, or even live a long time, a man has to guess, and guess right, over and over again, without enough data for a logical answer.” –– Robert A. Heinlein
Date: 01.16.2102
Calypso Colony Ship
Daniel and Kevin emerged from Communications at 1645 hours and headed straight for the Command Deck. It wasn’t far, just the other side of the same level. The captain maintained an open door policy for all crew. There were only a handful on duty – a total of twenty-three currently on shift in total. The ship ran 24 hours a day, although Shift One from 0100 to 0800 and Shift Four from 1900 to 0200 were only minimally staffed.
Captain Aaronson was dictating the daily log, and looking over the digital reports from the half-dozen techs. Until Daniel and Kevin walked in, it had been a routine day, with only a slight mold issue reported on the ‘Ponics Deck that was affecting the broccoli production. He nodded to the two Techs and motioned for them to sit as he finished the last part of his log. A moment later he was done. He toggled a button on the headset and turned towards them.
“Medry, Edmonds, what can I do for you?”
Kevin nodded to Daniel, “You found it...”
Daniel took a deep breath, “Sir, Edmonds and I have spent the past eight hours reviewing transmissions, and, I don’t know how to say this any better sir, but there has been a Level Five extinction event on Earth.”
The captain’s face turned grim, “Level Five?”
“Yes, sir, a virus. They refer to it as ESH and it has spread world-wide and also affected the space stations, Moon, and Mars colonies. All space stations and both colonies appear to have completely ceased transmissions.”
The Captain sat there for a moment, saying nothing.
“And Earth?”
“The virus was infectious through even limited contact. Initially there was an extremely long incubation period, thirty-five days or more, allowing for maximum transmission among the population. Over time the virus seems to have mutated and the incubation period has lessened to approximately eighteen days. The virus attacks the hypothalamus, in the lateral nucleus to be exact, and the affected literally eat themselves to death.”
The captain rubbed his forehead, closed his eyes for a moment, and then asked, “The mortality rate?”
“The reports vary, but we are seeing averages of over ninety-nine percent.”
“Ninety-nine percent?”
“Yes sir.”
Captain Aaronson stared at Medry and Edmonds, both looked pale, sick.
“Due to the long incubation period, the infection was widespread before anyone knew what was happening.” Medry added as he looked back down at his tablet, “Patient Zero is listed here as Dr. Edith Sarah Hainey. Also, there are reports of a large-scale simultaneous outbreak in the Ghizhou Province in China. As best as I can tell from the reports, the virus began there.
There are some theories that it was possibly a variant of the VOS-MRSA mutation, a holdover from when we still used antibiotics. But those theories were apparently disproved. Also, there seems to be some kind of link as far as blood type. We are seeing reports stating that the only surviving population are the ones who carry AB negative blood.”
The Captain looked ill. The lines on his face deepened.
Daniel continued, “The incubation period also includes what they refer to as a ‘whiteout period’, where the infected is relatively asymptomatic yet infectious as hell. Originally it may have been as long as thirty-five days that a patient was infectious, yet asymptomatic. That led to widespread infection and by the time the CDC understood the situation, containment was impossible.”
He stared at the Captain, “Sir, they are ordering us to not return to Earth under any circumstances. I’ll send you a synopsis of what we have learned.”
Daniel tapped Send on his tablet and the Captain’s tablet pinged.
Captain Aaronson picked up the tablet and paged through the documents, silent. After a long moment, the Captain said, “Say nothing, not to anyone. Collect all of the transmissions regarding the plague and consolidate them for me in one main report. How long will this take?”
Kevin looked at Daniel, who shrugged, “We have a lot of data to go through. I’ll create a search string, have the computer isolate all transmissions containing ‘plague’ or ‘ESH,’ and then we can follow the updates, consolidate them and give you at least a basic report by 1900 hours.”
The Captain nodded, “Do it. I want a full blackout on any communications packets until we fully understand what we are looking at. If anyone questions you on the communications blackout tell them that you are working on a project that I have requested. I’ll handle any further questions from here.”
He paused, “Let’s hope things turned around.”
Daniel nodded woodenly, “Yes sir, let’s hope.”
Kevin and Daniel got to work, and at 2100 hours, two hours past what Daniel had promised, they presented the full report to Captain Aaronson.
In all, the population of Earth had suffered such devastation that it would take decades if not centuries to recover from it. The ESH virus had infected over 99.95% of the population. The remaining fraction of the population had managed to successfully isolate themselves in remote enclaves, and violently resisted any contact with the infected. In cases where it had been thought safe and non-infected and infected had come into contact, the results were devastating. The uninfected contracted the virus and died within weeks. The virus had mutated, reducing the incubation rate from 45 days to less than two weeks. The mortality rate had not dropped, however, and remained a staggering 99%.
Another detail had revealed itself. Every single one of the survivors were of a specific, and rare, blood type, Type AB negative, which was present in only one percent of Caucasians, 0.3% of African Americans, 0.2% of Hispanics, and just 0.1% of all Asians. Overall, less than 0.4% of the world’s population remained, just 14.5 million.
Daniel pointed to one report dated August 5th, 2100, noting the name of the researcher - Dr. Julie L. Aaronson.
He asked, “Do you know her, sir?”
Fenton nodded, “She’s my aunt, my father’s twin sister.”
“Well she’s the author of a paper that is pointing toward early signs of possible complications with infection from the ESH virus.” Daniel said, “As if the virus wasn’t lethal enough, it has some early indications of teratogenic effects as well. It is causing high numbers of spontaneous abortions and miscarriages in humans.
He read further, “It also appears to be affecting the few remaining simian species who have also been hit hard by the virus. It indicated a possibility for high rates of infertility in the surviving population.
Captain Aaronson sat immobile, realizing the broad-reaching aspects of the disease that had ravaged Earth while he had sailed away into the darkest reaches of space. Their species faced extinction on its home world. At this very moment, lost in the darkness of space, Calypso held what might be the only population of plague-free humans left of a tiny blue planet known as Earth.
The next morning, the Captain called a general assembly and solemnly reported the news from Earth for all of the crew currently on duty.
“We have been tasked to create a new colony on Zarmina’s World, far from the dangers of this devastating virus,” he told the stunned crew.
“We knew the possibility of returning home was small, but now we are certain. There will be no return to Earth. To do so would be to face certain infection and staggering loss of life. We are on our own, folks. And it seems that the fate of the human race rests in our hands.”
The meeting devolved into a quiet panic, along with tears and anger. There were even calls for the ship to be turned around, an impossibility given their current trajectory. In time, the meeting ended, and the crew dispersed slowly through the ship.
Sam Sydan pulled at Daniel’s sleeve. They had maintained a fully professional interaction since that one night together the year before. She had kept her distance, likely unwilling to get her heart entangled with someone who obviously was not ready to settle down.
“Daniel......”
He looked at her, his eyes burned with exhaustion, his head pounded.
“Could you keep an eye out? For a message from my brother Tom? He was captaining a supply ship on the Moon to Mars route when I left.”
He nodded, “I’ll keep an eye out. All of the crewmembers last names have been flagged, we will disburse the data on the family as soon as we find it.”
Her hand slipped up to his shoulder, reassuring and kind.
“Are you all right?”
Daniel considered her for a moment. He had only seen her in passing over the past few months. Their shifts had not coincided and she had distanced herself in a friendly yet professional way. She was looking for a future partner, not just a fun tumble in the sack. Daniel couldn’t help but see her for what she was, an amazing, sexy, and smart woman. And at that moment he felt so vulnerable, in such raw pain at the thought of everyone left behind, lost in the chaos of the virus. Very possibly everyone he knew and loved, dead.
“No, I’m not.” He said simply, pulling her close, “I don’t think any of us are.”
